Leila is a writer and researcher from Philadelphia. Urban life, the politics around urban space, and the potential for sustainability within cities fascinates and motivates her. This interest in the city first took her to Turkey where she taught through a Fulbright Scholarship and researched the politics of newly constructed public space. Now Leila is living in Jerusalem researching and writing at an Israeli think tank about the sharing economy as a path for more sustainable lifestyles. She is particularly interested in how we relate to one another in urban space and how the sharing economy could alter those interactions and dynamics.
When Leila is not at work, she is arranging shared meals between asylum seekers and Israelis. She is striving to build a decentralized social business in which asylum seekers can find markets for their cooking skills.
In her free time, Leila likes to learn new languages, travel, and spend as much time outside as possible.